My Life in Languedoc, a memoir in chapters #10 - A memoir in Chapters

Languedoc has many historical sites such as medieval Carcassonne and the Cathar Castles which I wrote about here in #6. However, I think The Canal du Midi is the most romanticised of them all and I understand why. This long meandering waterway begins in Toulouse and makes its way south passing by sun drenched vineyards, sleepy villages and ancient castles to eventually, 150 miles later, spill into the Étang de Thau, a lagoon facing The Mediterranean Sea.

The canal is the one of the oldest canals in Europe opening in 1681 and was built to create a link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean via the port of Sète, the river Garonne and the port of Bordeaux. In those pre-machinery days it took fifteen thousand men ten years to dig its length and we have their womenfolk to thank for planting the trees and irises along its banks which help prevent them collapsing.

The canal predates the railways so when it opened for the first time ever Mediterranean produce was transported north in just days where previously it had taken weeks by horse and cart. You might think Languedoc wine would be part of the haul, but you’d be wrong and the reason is closely linked to why England has long been an avid consumer of Bordeaux wine. Many hundreds of years ago a trading agreement was drawn up called The Bordeaux Privilege which gave that regions wine merchants exclusive rights to the English market. The monopoly forced wines from other regions to wait months before being allowed to leave the port making sure Bordeaux wines dominated the taverns and dining tables of England. The agreement wasn’t repealed until 1776, long after the canal opened but rather than lose the chance to export their wine products, Languedoc farmers distilled their wine into brandy which was allowed to leave France from Bordeaux.

Once the railways arrived traffic along the canal reduced considerably and gradually over the years it became a waterway used for leisure pursuits and has remained that way. For those living in Languedoc The Canal du Midi is hard to ignore and working in tourism I saw its pull, drawing people from all over the world to its banks. Some hired a boat for a week or two to lazily cruise its length or, for those with deep pockets, they joined one of the luxury canal-boat hotels and cruised in style. Others hired bicycles to pedal its length, and some booked my Canal du Midi Wine Tour designed for those who just wanted to experience a short trip.

This tour saw a few different incarnations over the years. To begin with I only ran it on a Tuesday to coincide with a great farmers market that’s held once a week in the little town of Olonzac. Customers were given free time to wander the market for an hour before being whisked off to the canal for an hour’s cruise while enjoying a wine tasting that nearly always included a chilled glass of rosé. Afterwards we would tuck in to an alfresco lunch by the side of the canal then head off to a winery for a visit and tasting. Sometimes we had time to squeeze in a visit to the stunning village of Minerve which I wrote about in here #2. Eventually the tour became so popular that I ran it every day of the week replacing the market with a visit to an olive oil producer.

Of course, I didn’t own my own boat and as my tours were mainly for small groups I needed to find a licenced boat & captain who would allow me run a tasting while we cruised. I was so lucky to find Ruud, a lovely Dutchman with an equally lovely Dutch boat called Barque. Our captain effortlessly and with great skill cruised my groups many times a week for over ten years and I’m sure every one of my customers loved the experience. I suspect nearly all of them will have photographs of Ruud in their phones and albums - a visual souvenir of their time on Barque cruising the magical Canal du Midi.